Devil's Chronicles Part 1
by applebutt
Summary: Part 1 of the Devil's Chronicles series. Following the events of The Soulforge, the past of the Sons of Sparda is revealed. Rated for Dante and his antics.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I got this idea while I was playing DMC 3, and I thought it would be interesting to write about Dante's and Vergil's past. I'm writing it in three parts, following the line of The Soulforge, Dragonlance Chronicles, and Dragonlance Legends. Sorry if this seems really random, but I promise it will get better!**

**I do not own Devil May Cry or Dragonlance, or any characters associated with either series (sad face).**

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><p><em>Chapter 1<em>

The young Majere twins stood quietly at a distance, watching people moving furniture into a house that had just recently been built. The twins' older sister, Kitiara, had allowed the four-year-olds to watch after Caramon insisted they meet the new family.

"Fine, you and Raistlin can go," Kitiara had replied to his badgering, "but stay out of trouble and don't bother anyone." With that, the twins had set off for the sight, Caramon happily chatting away.

"Do you think they have any kids?" Caramon asked Raistlin.

"Who knows," Raistlin responded, not caring either way. Even if there were children, they would most likely be more inclined to make friends with Caramon.

When they arrived, Caramon pointed eagerly at the lawn below the house. He was delighted to see not one, but two children, both relatively close to the Majere twins in age.

"That must be them! Come on Raist!" Caramon said excitedly, heading for the stairs. As they got closer, they could see that the boys were also twins. Both boys looked exactly the same, with silver hair that almost hung in their piercing blue eyes.

The only difference between them was the way they acted. One boy glanced around curiously, shifted his weight ever few seconds, and fidgeted constantly. The other boy was more calm, standing perfectly still with his arms crossed and a look of disinterest on his face.

The fidgeting boy looked up and smiled in relief and excitement as Caramon and Raistlin approached.

"Hey, Verg, check it out! We're not the only twins!" he said to his brother, who turned to look at the two approaching boys. The first boy's smile widened, and Caramon grinned back broadly. Raistlin watched them both and imagined they both looked like fools.

"Name's Dante," the boy said. Pointing his thumb over his shoulder, he said, "That's my brother Vergil." The other boy, Vergil, rolled his eyes at his brother's pointing out the obvious.

"I'm Caramon. This is Raistlin," Caramon introduced. "So, where are you from?"

Dante bit his lip nervously and looked back at Vergil, who replied, "Far from here."

"Like, Haven? Or Solamnia maybe?" Caramon guessed.

"Further than that," Dante said.

"It's none of your business anyway," Vergil snapped.

"Aww, c'mon, Verg, can't we tell them?" Dante argued.

"You heard what father said. No one can know," Vergil said. Dante's shoulders slumped and he turned and gave the Majere twins a look of apology.

"That's alright. If we don't need to know, we won't make you tell us. Right, Caramon?" Raistlin said, turning to Caramon, who had been about to argue.

"Right," Caramon said, subdued.

"I see you two are making friends already," a woman said to Dante and Vergil as she walked toward the boys. She was a beautiful woman, with long golden hair and stunning blue eyes like those of the boys'.

Dante nodded and smile enthusiastically, while Vergil resumed his former stance and said nothing.

"I'm Caramon Majere, ma'am, and this is my brother Raistlin. We're twins," Caramon said proudly.

"I can see that," the woman said kindly, smiling gently at both boys. "It's nice to see that my sons are making friends. Goodness knows they need at least a bit of a normal life." Turning to her sons, she said, "Your father wants you to get ready for your lesson."

"What? A lesson? But we just got here!" Dante said, downcast. Vergil was about to speak when a voice behind them caused them to start.

"Just because we've just moved in, it doesn't excuse you from another lesson. You're both behind as it is." The man that spoke was a tall, impressive being. His face looked to be carved from marble, and his long silver hair was swept back from his brow. His clothing, a rich purple in color, made him look like royalty.

Dante looked down and dug the toe of his shoe into the dirt. Brightening suddenly, he looked up and said, "Can Caramon and Raistlin stay?" The man glanced at the Majere twins. Caramon swallowed and shifted nervously under the man's imposing gaze, while Raistlin stood motionless, looking back at the man curiously. He couldn't tell, but there seemed to be some inhuman quality to the man.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," the man said after a moment of consideration. Turning to Dante and Vergil, he said, "Get your equipment and meet back here." He then turned to the woman and said, "Eva, are you going to have a look inside?"

The woman, Eva, nodded and replied, "Of course I am, dear."

"Come on," Dante beckoned to Caramon and Raistlin as he and Vergil headed up the stairway to their new home. The Majere twins followed them into the house, awed by how big it was compared to their own.

"Vergil, Dante, you know which room you're going to, right?" Eva said behind them as she stepped inside.

"Of course, mother," Vergil said.

"It's built a lot like our old house, so at least we know where everything is," Dante explained as he and Vergil led them to the second floor.

"What kind of lessons are you learning?" Raistlin asked.

"Sword fighting," Dante said as Vergil opened the door to what appeared to be a large closet. Caramon's eyes widened as they stepped into the room. Mounted on the walls were weapons of all kinds, mainly swords, but a few other kinds as well.

"These are all yours?" Caramon asked in amazement.

"They're our father's," Vergil said, lifting two weighted wooden swords off the floor and throwing one to Dante.

"Two of 'em are gonna be ours, though," Dante said. He pushed a curtain back, revealing two swords mounted to the wall behind it. One of the swords was an abnormally large longsword, the ornate hilt shaped in the form of a grinning skull. The other sword was smaller, the blade much thinner and with only one edge. The hilt was simple, wrapped in blue and white cloth in a way that formed a diamond pattern.

"That one'll be mine," Dante said, pointing to the larger sword.

"Can you really lift it?" Caramon asked.

"A little bit, but I can only hold it for a couple minutes until I have to put it down," Dante said.

"A couple minutes? I couldn't hold that for three seconds!" Caramon exclaimed.

"Come on, Dante, stop wasting time," Vergil said, pushing past his brother and leaving the room without waiting for the others. Dante stuck his tongue out Vergil's back as he followed. Caramon chuckled lightly as he and Raistlin followed as well.

Their father waited for them down in the grass, along with, to Caramon and Raistlin's surprise, Kitiara, who was tapping her foot impatiently as the four boys approached.

"There you two are. I've been looking all over for you," Kitiara said impatiently to her brothers.

"Sorry, Kit, we got a little distracted," Caramon said, "but Dante and Vergil are learning to sword fight and their father said we could watch."

"I know, he told me," Kit said. "I'll let you stay until they're done, but then you have to come right home. Got it?"

"Got it!" Caramon said happily, grinning broadly.

"Actually, I think I might stay too. This could be interesting," Kit said, crossing her arms and watching the two silver-haired boys.

Much of the lesson consisted of their father going over past lessons and making sure they could demonstrate the techniques they had learned. Nothing interesting happened until the end, when their father decided it was time for a sparring session. Both boys looked thrilled at this and prepared their stances.

The match began with a nod of their father's head. The boys rushed at each other and the clack of their wooden swords filled the air. Caramon watched, wide-eyed with interest. Raistlin watched indifferently, not seeing the appeal his brother found in swordsmanship. Kitiara watched with interest as well, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Both boys were equally matched in battle. The two seemed to almost anticipate each other's next move, and every blow was successfully parried. The match ended when Vergil swung his sword up, jarring Dante's sword from his hands and sending it flying, while the blade of Vergil's wooden sword rested on Dante's collar bone.

"You lose again, Dante," Vergil said smugly. Dante glowered at his brother and backed away from him. Both boys panted heavily.

"You cannot allow your guard to falter, Dante," their father scolded. "That is why you lose. You become too confident." Dante looked down to avoid his father's eyes.

"That was some impressive swordsmanship," Kitiara said, "How long have they been learning?"

"Since they were old enough to walk," the boys' father said.

"Like I said, impressive." Holding out a gloved hand, Kit said, "Kitiara uth Matar. I'm Caramon and Raistlin's half-sister."

"Sparda," the man said, taking her hand and shaking it firmly.

"Welcome to the neighborhood, Sparda," Kit replied, ushering Caramon and Raistlin back home.

"We'll see you around sometime, right?" Dante called after them. Caramon looked back with a smile and nodded.

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><p><strong>If you managed to make it this far, thank you for reading! Feel free to leave a review and let me know if I need to make any improvements.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

After that first day, the two sets of twins became fast friends. Raistlin often remained aloof from the others, as did Vergil. The two boys formed a grudging respect for one another, though neither would call it friendship. They would often hang back and watch as the other children played, often making snide remarks about their brothers.

In the autumn of both twins' fifth year, Dante and Vergil's father had vanished without a trace. The disappearance of Sparda became the talk of Solace, for Sparda had become a highly respected resident of the tree town. Neither Eva nor her sons would say anything about him, though it seemed Eva at least knew something about the disappearance.

Despite Sparda's absence, his sons continued to train, growing faster and stronger with each sparring match. Dante, however, continued to constantly lose to his brother, and without his father's supervision he would often resort to dirty tricks when fighting. Vergil always caught him, however, and would often knock him over the head with his sword for his troubles.

"Why do you fight so dishonestly?" Vergil questioned him one day.

"You gotta do whatever you can to win," Dante replied.

"But you never win anyway," Vergil quipped, leaving Dante to fume.

Dante and Vergil invited Caramon and Raistlin to celebrate with them on their eighth Day of Life Gift. They were the only children who had been invited.

"Dante, Vergil, happy birthday," Eva said, presenting her sons with two amulets with silver chains and large red gem stones.

"Wow, cool!" Dante said as he and Vergil slipped them on.

Later on, the four boys were outside on the boardwalk, enjoying the warmth of the spring air, which caused Raistlin to sneeze constantly.

"So, how goes the mage studies?" Dante asked Raistlin after a bout of sneezes had passed.

"They're alright," Raistlin replied.

"It must be boring. I don't think I'd be able to sit in a classroom for long before I died of boredom," Dante said with a chuckle. Raistlin shrugged.

"That's because you have the attention span of a kender," Vergil said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll remember that," Dante said. Turning back to Raistlin, he said, "It gets pretty boring around here during the winter without you. Vergil has no one to talk to."

"That's understandable. You and Caramon really don't make for intelligent conversation," Raistlin replied. Vergil smirked at his brother while Caramon laughed at his own expense.

"I'll remember that, too," Dante said, rolling his eyes and snorting with laughter.

Caramon and Raistlin left shortly afterward, arriving home as dark storm clouds gathered overhead. The wind blew eerily and Raistlin's neck prickled as he went to check on his mother. At the moment she was sleeping. Her face looked almost peaceful, if a little pale.

Thunder began to rumble in the sky around midnight, and lightning crackled, illuminating the tall valenwood trees. Raistlin's apprehension increased, though he was the only one who felt as though something was wrong. Caramon lay sprawled across his bed, his snores nearly as loud as the thunder.

Lightning flashed brilliantly, and the faint red glow of a fire appeared in the distance. Raistlin watched, and then looked up into the sky, his blood freezing at what he saw. Far off in the distance, three bright balls of light glowed in the sky.

Lightning crackled from the lights and continued to strike down in the same spot. Raistlin watched, mouth agape, as the lights gave one final flash before disappearing, leaving only a bit of thunder in the distance and the sickening smell of sulfur in the air. Raistlin slept fitfully that night, waking up several times from terrifying dreams that seemed too real.

In the morning, Raistlin and Caramon went to town to see the damage of the storm. Only one house had caught fire, and it, along with the tree it had been in, had completely burned to the ground.

In front of the sight were Dante and Vergil. Dante sat on his knees, his shoulders shaking violently. Vergil was next to him, a comforting arm wrapped around his shoulders. Both of them were covered head to toe with soot, and the look of utter despair covered both their faces.

"Name of the Abyss," Caramon said quietly as he and Raistlin approached them. They saw that the two boys had their swords, the real ones they had inherited from their father. Vergil's was strapped to his waist, but Dante clutched the hilt of his sword to his chest, his knuckles white.

"Where's- where's your mother?" Caramon asked helplessly. Vergil and Dante both turned to look at Caramon and Raistlin, and the true point of their despair became apparent.

The tragedy that had struck became the next big talk of Solace. Everyone thought it unfortunate that the silver-haired twins had lost both their parents in the span of three years, and at such a young age.

Otik, the innkeeper of the Inn of the Last Home, had welcomed them to stay for as long as they needed, with no charge. The twins agreed to stay until their house had been rebuilt, though no one could understand how the eight-year-olds would live by themselves, with no one to fend for them.

Their swords had been the only things Dante and Vergil had salvaged, and they coped with their loss by training with the unfamiliar swords, allowing themselves to become accustomed to their newfound weaponry.

They ignored everyone's concerns and kept to themselves for several months, even avoiding Caramon and Raistlin when they came to call. Eventually, the boys, like their father, vanished, leaving behind no trace of themselves, and no clues as to where they had gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**A big thank you to 10th Squad 3rd Seat for the reviews! Sorry for the wait, but I was on vacation for the past week and before that I didn't have a lot of motivation anyway. But anyway, here's chapter 3, and I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

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><p><em>Chapter 3<em>

Summer finally arrived, and with it, a heat wave that forced Master Theobald to allow his students a holiday, as hardly any of them could stay awake in class.

Raistlin was thankful for the break, but felt fearful about going home and seeing his mother again, whose condition had gradually worsened, and after learning of the Widow Judith, his apprehension grew.

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><p>Two boys, barely in their teens, trudged down the well-worn road to Solace. The two were brothers, twins in fact, as anyone could see by looking at them. They both had short hair that, despite their young age, was silver in color. One of the boys wore his hair down, only a few inches from touching his shoulders. The other's hair was swept away from his brow, with only a few tendrils hanging in his face.<p>

Both of them wore heavy-looking coats, but didn't seem to be bothered despite the summer heat. On the boy's coats was a long trench coat made of red leather. The other's was of a simple blue cloth material, though the design was slightly more elaborate than his brother's.

Both carried weapons. To the uninformed, it seemed as though the longsword and small single-edged blade were merely there to deter would-be thieves, until the two put their weapons to action to remove whatever obstacle was in their path.

The two realized they had reached Solace by midday when they stopped among the valenwood trees for a break. The red-coated teen looked up in time to see a young lady pass on the boardwalk overhead, admiring the view he got of her.

"Dante," his brother warned, "eyes forward."

"Looks like we're in Solace Vergil. I think these boardwalks were the greatest invention ever," Dante replied. "Wonder if anybody's living in our old house?"

"Let's hope not," Vergil said, "We need a place to live, and I don't think we'll have enough money for a room at the Inn."

The two continued on their path, locating a set of stairs leading to the boardwalk above. They passed several people as they made their way through town, though no one recognized them.

At last they reached the site of their old home, fresh green grass now growing where the charred remains of the tree had been. Several feet away was another house, newly built to replace the old one that had burned down five years ago. Dante peered through a window, trying to see inside.

"Looks dark," he said hopefully. Vergil strode over to look.

"It's empty," he said, "They must have been keeping it ready all these years, waiting for our return."

"What do you hoodlums think you're doing!" Dante and Vergil turned to the source of the voice and saw an old man hobbling toward them.

"That's private property, that is! Don't make me inform the guards!" the man threatened.

"Take it easy, old man, we were just lookin'," Dante said. The man's face turned an angry red.

"What my brother is trying to say," Vergil interjected, trying to quell the man's anger, "is that we weren't intending to harm anything. We were just passing through and grew curious about the house, is all."

This seemed to placate the old man, for his face returned to its normal hue and he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, this house may not be very old, but it's got quite the history," he began, "Nine years ago a new family moved to Solace, so a house was built for them. Soon after the man of the house disappeared, leaving behind his wife and children. Unfortunately, four years later the house, including the tree it was in, burned down in a freak storm. The only survivors were the two young boys.

"They stayed at the Inn of the Last Home for a bit while this house was being built, but before its completion, the boys left. Vanished, it seemed. So, the building was completed in the hopes they would return soon, but they never did. I was the one put in charge of maintaining it, and I still do today."

"What if these kids come back?" Dante asked.

"Then I'd be glad to hand the key to the house over to them," the man said. Dante looked at Vergil, his eyebrows raised expectantly.

"What did these children look like, exactly?" Vergil asked, feigning interest.

"Eh, I don't remember much," the old man said, "except… their hair. It was an odd color to have at their age. Silver, it was."

"Well, isn't that funny," Dante said, "Silver-haired kids. That sounds really familiar, doesn't it, Vergil?"

"Indeed," Vergil said, trying not to smirk at his brother's sarcasm.

The old man's eyes widened, suddenly realizing the hair color of the boys he was talking to, and sputtered, "What- I never realized- Name of the Abyss, it's you two?"

"Now he gets it," Dante said, giving the man a round of applause. The old man fumbled for the key he kept in a pouch tied to his belt and handed it to Vergil.

"Welcome back, you two!" he cried happily, hobbling away quickly. Dante turned to look at Vergil in confusion.

"He's probably glad he doesn't have to take care of it anymore," Vergil said, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

"Not as big as the old place," Dante commented, "Only one floor, too. Still, better than sleeping outside on the ground." The two brothers looked at each other.

"What now?" Vergil asked, almost absentmindedly. Dante's stomach growled loudly as if in reply.

"Well, I say we eat first," Dante said, "then tomorrow we could see about getting some furniture for the place. At least something to sleep on besides the floor."

"I'd say that's an excellent idea," Vergil said, digging their money pouch out of his coat. Peering inside, he said, "Looks like we'll have enough for a couple meals."

The two left the house and headed for the Inn. When they arrived they saw the old man they had just spoken to whispering fervently to Otik, whose eyes widened, and got even bigger when he saw the brothers enter.

He hurried over to them as they sat down and exclaimed, "I just heard you two had returned to town! It's quite the surprise, I must say!"

"How is it a surprise?" Vergil asked.

"Nobody expected you'd actually return. Some even thought you were dead," Otik explained, "though now I can see both theories were wrong. You two certainly have grown."

"We'd like to order our meal, if you don't mind," Vergil said, pulling out two steel coins.

"Put your money away, young man," Otik said, "It's on me." As he hurried off to the kitchen to get them their dinner, the old man from earlier walked up to them.

"By the way, you two, I took the liberty of telling some other folks about you, and they've agreed to donate some things to help you get settled in," he told them, then left the inn.

"Did people really miss us that much?" Dante asked.

"I doubt it. They probably just feel sorry for us," Vergil said caustically. Their dinner arrived, and the two ate in silence.

After they finished, Dante asked, "What now? We got the living situation figured out, same with getting furniture, by the sound of it."

"I think the next best thing to do would be to find some means of making money," Vergil said, "but we can worry about that later. First we need to see about this furniture these people are so willing to give us."

The two left the inn, and upon arriving home found a small crowd gathering around the house, toting various bits of furniture and the occasional food platter. After several moments of shoving, confusion, and helping to drag furniture inside and organize it, the people finally dispersed, leaving the brothers on their own.

"Well, that takes care of that," Dante said.

The heat broke suddenly that night in a violent thunderstorm. Dante lay in his room, tension clawing at his stomach as he listened to the heavy booms and watched as lightning arced its way across the sky. He could hear several shouts of "Fire!" out in the distance.

At last he decided to get up, for he knew it would be hopeless for him to sleep. Throwing on a pair of trousers, he walked out into the sitting room to find his brother sitting in a chair, staring vacantly out the window at the storm.

"Storm's bugging you too, huh?" Dante asked as he sat next to him.

"I'm remembering… what happened that night," Vergil said absently, his voice hollow.

Dante tried to swallow the painful lump that had appeared in his throat, and then said, "I was just thinking about that, too."

"This is nothing like it was that night, though," Vergil said.

"I know, but it's still kind of eerie, isn't it? The day we come back to Solace, and it starts to storm," Dante said. Vergil said nothing, but nodded. The two stayed up for the rest of the night, watching the storm in silence.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

The next morning, Dante went out to inspect the damage. Only three houses had burned, though fortunately the families had escaped in time. He looked around, searching the gathering crowds for any familiar faces, but only saw a few.

In the distance, near the edge of Solace, a lone figure stood watching the nearly flooded stream. Curious, he made his way closer. It turned out to be a young man, very close to Dante's age, with soft auburn hair that brushed his thin shoulders.

The snap of branches caused the young man to turn around, and he spotted Dante approaching him. Dante paused, recognizing the thin, fox-like features of the boy's face, then grinned and strode over to him.

"Well, well, look who it is," he said, "Comin' out to look at the damage, Raistlin?"

After Raistlin said nothing, Dante sighed and, placing his elbow on the other boy's shoulder, said, "Don't tell me you don't remember me."

Raistlin studied his face for a moment before saying, "Dante?"

Dante chuckled and said, "How do you know I'm not Vergil?"

"Vergil wouldn't feel the need to invade my personal space," Raistlin reasoned, ducking from under Dante's arm. "Where is Vergil, speaking of?"

"Back home. Neither of us slept last night, so he's probably resting up now. I'll let him know I saw you though," Dante replied. Raistlin nodded.

"And I'll tell Caramon you and Vergil have returned. I'm sure he'll be thrilled," he said.

Dante shuffled awkwardly, not sure what to say next. Placing his hands beneath his jacket, he absentmindedly fingered the two weapons he had acquired during his travels.

"So, uh… Are you still going to that school?" he asked, breaking the silence. Raistlin nodded silently. Dante rolled his eyes at Raistlin's unwillingness to keep a conversation going.

"What's Caramon been doing?" he asked.

"He's working full time at Farmer Sedge's now. He doesn't get home until evening most of the time," Raistlin responded.

"Huh," Dante muttered thoughtfully. Turning to leave, he said, "Well, guess I'll be going now. Maybe we'll hunt you guys down this evening so we can all catch up." Raistlin nodded and turned to go his own way. Dante trudged back to the house, shaking his head slightly at the silent boy. He returned home to find Vergil already outside, practicing with his sword at the base of the tree.

"Morning, Verg," Dante called out to him. Vergil, without pausing what he was doing, nodded in return.

"Damn, is everyone giving me the silent treatment today?" Dante said, exasperated.

"Perhaps it's because it's still early in the morning, and everyone is trying to get over the shock of the storm," Vergil responded, sliding Yamato back into its sheath. "Damage report?"

"Three houses burned down, no one injured," Dante said. "Lot of branches on the ground, though, and the streams are almost flooded."

"At least no one was hurt," Vergil said.

"Yeah, and I found an old friend of ours," Dante said, switching the subject.

"Oh, really? Who was that?" Vergil asked, not paying much attention.

"Raistlin. He was checking out the damage too," Dante replied, "God, you should see how skinny he is. It's like he never eats."

"I can imagine. He was always sickly as a child," Vergil said.

"You know what I was thinking?" Dante started.

"One could only imagine what you might be thinking of," Vergil commented.

"Shut up. I was thinking we could give Caramon and Raistlin a surprise visit tonight. Catch up with our old friends, you know?" Dante said.

"I suppose we could. We have nothing better to do," Vergil mused.

"We might have luck with finding a job, too. Raistlin told me Caramon's working full time at Farmer Sedge's. Maybe he'll help us out," Dante added.

Vergil paused, then said resentfully, "I suppose it's better than nothing."

* * *

><p>That evening, the twins made their way to the Majere house.<p>

"I forgot how far out they live," Dante commented as they approached the tiny house. A lantern was set out near the front door where a small group of people sat, happily talking among themselves. As they approached, they saw with amazement that Rosamun Majere was among the four, and she looked far healthier than she had in years. An older woman sat next to her whom Dante and Vergil didn't recognize. Across from them sat Caramon and his father Gilon, both large and muscular. Raistlin was nowhere in sight.

Caramon stood up and went inside before Dante could get his attention. Dante and Vergil waited a moment to see if he would come back out, then strode up to the adults still sitting outside.

"Can we help you two?" Rosamun asked, smiling uncertainly.

"We're friends of Caramon and Raistlin," Dante said.

"We've been gone a while and thought we'd come and check in with them," Vergil explained.

"Caramon just went inside for a moment," Gilon replied.

"You're welcome to go in and find him," Rosamun said, "Raistlin is inside as well."

The two thanked the Majeres and went into the small house, listening for either of the Majere twins. They didn't have to listen hard, for before long, they could hear the sound of Raistlin chastising his brother for disturbing him. By the sound of it, they were in the kitchen.

As they approached the closed door, they heard Caramon say, "Sorry, Raist, I didn't mean to bother you. I just wanted to see if you wanted to come outside and join us."

"I have no wish to join you outside, because as you can see, my brother, I am very busy with my studies," Raistlin responded testily.

"Oh, alright, Raist. If you change your mind…" Caramon said, sounding dejected.

Dante opened the door to the kitchen as silently as possible. Seeing Caramon's back turned toward him, he took it as a perfect opportunity. Sneaking up behind the burly young man, he wrapped his arm around Caramon's neck in a chokehold and said, "Guess who?"

Caramon gave an unmanly shriek which caused Raistlin to look up from his studies with an exasperated look on his face. Upon seeing Dante, he said in a dangerous tone, "If you two wouldn't mind, I'd like to continue my studies, so please move your idiocy elsewhere."

Dante obliged, dragging the still panicking Caramon into the hall, where he let go of his neck and slapped him on the back. Caramon calmed himself, and realizing who his assailant was, guffawed loudly and clapped Dante on the shoulder.

"Good to see you're staying alert, Caramon," Dante said, laughing.

"Raist said he saw you today, but I didn't think you'd visit," Caramon said after the laughter had died down. "Where's Ver- Oh!" Turning, he spotted Vergil in the shadows, standing against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Good evening, Caramon," Vergil greeted.

Caramon returned the greeting, then said, "Boy, it sure has been awhile. Where have you guys been?"

"Travelling, mostly," Dante said. "We did stay in Palanthas for a month, just before we got here. Vergil insisted we go there because of the library."

"Perhaps if you were a little more appreciative of good literature, you would have enjoyed yourself a bit more," Vergil said. Straightening, he continued, "Speaking of, I need to talk to Raistlin for a moment. I found some books he might be interested in."

"Oh, I wouldn't bother him if I were you. He gets really mad when his studying gets interrupted," Caramon warned him.

"I think he can spare a few seconds of his time," Vergil said. He strode over to the kitchen door and knocked lightly before entering.

"I thought I told you to stop bothering me?" Raistlin said angrily, not looking up.

"Sorry to bother you, but I won't be long," Vergil said. Raistlin's head snapped up as Vergil entered the room.

"I found some literature during my travels that I thought might be of interest to you," Vergil continued, noting the look of annoyance on Raistlin's face. Taking a few books out of his coat, he placed them gently on the table. Turning to leave, he said, "Again, sorry for the interruption. Hopefully the next time we meet we'll be able to sit down and have a conversation." Raistlin nodded silently and returned to his studies.

Vergil shut the door behind him as he left, then realized Caramon and Dante had disappeared. He could hear voices outside and realized they must have gone out to join the others. Heading outside, he stood silently next to his brother, who was retelling one of their adventures, this one involving a group of goblins they had narrowly escaped from.

"- so while I had one distracted, Vergil snuck up behind it and had his sword to its neck. I think the others got the message, so they put the rest of our stuff down and ran off," Dante narrated. Vergil smiled a bit, remembering that night.

"What did you do to the one that was left?" Caramon asked.

"My dear brother thought he'd be merciful and let it go," Vergil answered. "If it had been up to me, it wouldn't have lived to see the light of day."

"That's because you're a sadistic psychopath," Dante said under his breath.

Vergil caught the comment and replied, "I can't help the fact that you're too weak to kill a goblin."

"It's called compassion. I know it's a hard thing for you to understand-" Dante snapped.

Vergil stood up abruptly. "I'm done with this conversation. I'll be going home now, if you don't mind," he said bitterly, walking away from the group. Dante watched his brother leave, then sighed and turned back to the Majeres.

"Sorry about him," he said apologetically. "After all this travelling we've just been getting sick of each other. It definitely doesn't help that he didn't get any sleep that night."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Rosamun reassured him.

Dante nodded. "I should probably get home and get some rest too." Turning to Caramon, he said, "Before I forget, Raistlin mentioned you were working for Farmer Sedge. Think you could put in a recommendation for me?"

"Oh, sure! I'll let him know tomorrow that you're interested," Caramon replied.

"Thanks," Dante said, turning to leave.

He arrived home to find Vergil in the sitting room, silently cleaning his sword. They barely glanced at each other as Dante passed by, heading towards his room. He stared briefly at the wall, where his own sword was mounted, and contemplated taking it down for a cleaning. His tiredness won over, though, and he lay down on his bed and stared at the ceiling instead. Vergil walked past, but neither said anything. Dante rolled onto his side with a sigh and drifted to sleep.


End file.
